Cat Cora speaks out on prom controversy

Mar 18, 2010

Chef Cat Cora (Photo by Robert Quailer)

Okay, I admit to being a big fan of “Iron Chef America” on The Food Network. My only complaint was that they didn’t have Cat Cora on there enough. And that was before I found out that Chef Cora was an out-and-proud lesbian.

This morning I discovered even more reason to be a Cat Cora fan: She is speaking up in support of Constance McMillen, the lesbian senior who wanted to take her girlfriend to the senior prom at Itawamba Agricultural High School in Mississippi, but ended up seeing school officials cancel the prom completely rather than let her and her girlfriend attend.

Turns out that Chef Cora is from Mississippi, and she is, she says, “outraged” by what’s happened, and has “pledged to take action,” according to a press release I received this morning.

Here’s more from the press release:

“I was that girl from Mississippi one time,” the Wingfield High School graduate (Chef Cora) said. “I hate seeing things that reinforce negative attitudes about Mississippi like this.” Cora was in Washington last week cooking dinner for President Obama and the Greek prime minister. She said she would like to make a personal appearance at the prom. “This is the 21st century. This is a time for us to unite and support each other,” she said. “This isn’t just for (McMillen’s) civil rights. This is for all Americans’ civil rights, whether they know it or not.”